BIOVECTRA invests in employees at every level

Anita Baker had been a hairdresser for 20 years before she decided to go back to school to study bioscience. Once she graduated, she took a position as a technician working on the floor at Charlottetown-based BIOVECTRA. Eight years later, Baker is superintendent of a vaccine manufacturing facility there and tries to encourage other women to consider manufacturing as a career.

“BIOVECTRA is very inclusive,” she says. “I have never once felt like I was less because I was a woman or overlooked because I was a woman. The opportunities here are very equal. And it’s good work. There’s always somebody there to help you.”

Nicole McTague has been with BIOVECTRA since 2011 and has held every job in the human resources department at one time or another. Now director of HR operations, McTague has benefited not only from the expansion the company has undergone in the years since she arrived, but also from the collaborative culture there.

“I can do things outside of my role,” she says. “If an employee has initiative or desire, the opportunity is really there to learn and grow. There’s a lot of trust put into employees. Even as the company has grown, that hasn’t changed.”

Because BIOVECTRA was founded by a professor, Dr. Regis Duffy, she adds, the company is committed to continuing education. “You can put forward really any idea, and it doesn’t have to be directly related to your job,” McTague explains. “We’ve had people in operations who wanted to take marketing; we’ve had scientists who wanted to get their MBAs.”

In fact, three years ago the company hired a director of learning and development, which only increased the focus on internal training. There’s a mentoring and coaching program, which all company leaders have been through but which anyone can request to be a part of, as well as an online learning platform. Cross-training is also encouraged so employees can try positions in other departments to get an idea of future possibilities.

Internal candidates are typically top of the list for hiring. “Especially with our industry within Atlantic Canada, you don’t have a lot of competitors and there are fewer resources,” McTague says. “So, there is a big focus on making sure everybody here knows a little bit of everything.”

Communication is also a priority at BIOVECTRA. Internally, Baker says, every manager has an open-door policy, and each employee has an annual one-on-one. Regular town hall meetings, quarterly updates and virtual messaging from the executive team keep employees up to date with company goals for the year. “Goals aren’t just for the leadership team,” she says. “The company makes it clear what they want and where they want to be, and we all work together to achieve them.”

Much of the communication goes through a platform called The Hive — an internal social media-style platform where employees can post and share news. “It really seems to resonate with the newer generations coming into the workforce,” McTague says, “so that has been an asset.”

Like Baker, McTague would argue that because of the focus on internal training and development, BIOVECTRA offers great opportunities for people even at earlier stages in their careers — as both women were when they were hired there. “Some people say, ‘I don’t have experience, and no one will hire me,’ and it’s really not the case here,” says McTague. “Investing in employees is a big thing for BIOVECTRA, and it does very well.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing the winners of this year's Atlantic’s Top Employers competition, published March 25, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.